Portable extensible belt conveyor



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G. BAECHLI PORTABLE EXTENSIBLE BELT CONVEYOR July 7, 1959 Original FiledMay 11, 1951 13 Sheets-Sheet l1 Jul 7,1959 QBAECHU' 2,893,539

PORTABLE EXTENSIBLE BELT CONVEYOR Original Filed May 11, 1951 13Sheets-Sheet 12 o h l" 3023 v 305' 349 350 3/6 A W M: W run if If." I

United States Patent 2,893,539 h PORTABLE EXTENSIBLE BELT CONVEYORGeorge Baechli, New Philadelphia, Ohio, assign'or to Joy ManufacturingCompany, Pittsburgh, P35, a cor.- poration of Pennsylvania 29, Claims.01;. 1 9s-.-1a9

My invention relates devices.

The development of the: Continuous Miner has added a new problem to thefield of mining coal and other minerals that can be disintegrated by"such equipment, in that the relatively steady, high rate'of productionmakes necessary, for the 'remov'al'of the disintegrated material fromthe delivery conveyor of the Miner and its transport tothe mainconveying system of the portion ofthe mine where the Miner is working,facilities superior to those that have been adequate for use withcutting, shooting and loading cycles. One reason why theproblem has beenmagnified is the relatively rapid'rate of advance of the Miner. It maybe easily possible, so far as the disintegrating action is concerned, tomine out. vertical strips of coalthirty inches wide, eighteen inchesdeep; and more than six feet in height in materially less than a minute,and to drive a roomor entry several such strips wide at the rate of onehundred twenty feet per eight-hour shift, and for any system of materialconveying such as conventional shaker conveyors, mine floor supportedbelt conveyors, etc. the necessity for repeated lengthenings, by theaddition of relatively short extensions, would be a severe handicap tomaximum production. I have accordingly sought to minimize the number ofextensions of the conveying apparatus, and have provided, through myinvention, an arrangement whereby the number of extensions bytheinsertion of additional sections of conveyor is much reduced ascompared with other types of apparatus. While an arrangement of thecharacter to be described is of considerable overall length per se, andof considerably greater length when lined up behind the Miner, the wholeapparatus, Miner and conveyor devices, could be located in the chainpillar between two butt or panel entries, and the centers of the buttand panel entries may be so adjusted that there is room for the conveyordevices and a Continuous Miner preparing to start an attack on a seam,between the mother belt and the wall of the entry furthest removed fromthe mother belt at the time of the actual beginning of the attack on theseam.

In preferred embodiments, the conveyor devices may include two, vehcles, desirably a larger, rearward one and a smallerforward' one. Eachof these vehicles will desirably be steerable and have propulsion means,though the forward vehicle may be hitched to the Miner for movementforwardly with the latter. The larger, outer vehicle will perform thefunction of a belt storage and driving unit, and may be called a drivebuggy, while the smaller, forward one will act as a takeeu p buggy andprovide a material receiving'hopper for the reception of disintegratedmaterial from the Miner, which it would immediately follow. A continuousrun of belt will extend around a forward belt guiding roll on thetake-up buggy and the forward portion of its top run will desirably bewell supported by belt idler rolls, as material will be discharged ontoit The upper run will extend between the take-up and drive buggies, andwill besuitto portable extensible conveyor 2,893,539 Patented July 7,,1959 2 ably guided and supported on the latter desirabl .by, a longmetallic troughat the rear end of which there will be arranged a driveroll, which may, since thedriye buggy l t crma y a nee as th mean nglows up, with its take-up buggy portiqn, the Min overlie and dischargeto the mother belt cgnvey'or. The belt will pass over a roll systemdesignedto promote the efiiciency, of drive and will be guided;forwardly" to a it ably guided and supported movable rollelinst erbetween which and a u b r of p lle s re a s a seda axes near the outerend of the drive buggy the belt '11 pass back and forth, until a runthereof passes f .r aie over the remainder of the length of the drivebuggy. and to the take-up buggy, with the lower belt run on which it isconnected. With an arrangement such ashas been briefly outlined, it willbe evident that a large. amount of belt can be stored on the drive buggywhen the'm ov able roll cluster is adjacent the inner end of the buggy.And it will be evident that if the take-up buggy moves forward therewill be an approach of the movable roll cluster to the stationary rolls,and an elongatiqnoffthe upper and lower belt runs extending between thebuggies. To maintain the movable roll cluster normally as far as iscompatible with the momentary cireumstances, from the stationary rolls,there is provided, in the preferred' embodiment, a hydraulic cylinderand cable"'system for resisting movement-of the movable clusterrearwardly onth'edrivebuggy but allowing its'rearward movement undersuflicient traction on the belt, and the pressure in the hydrauliccylinder-arrangement will be adequate to sustain the belt load, andthere'will be provided means whereby advancing movements of the-'take'up buggy can be eifected without operator intervention iii the controlof the hydraulic cylinder and cableapparatus. If desired, there may beprovided also means whereby the movable cluster may be movedhydraulically' rearwardly on the drive buggy under operator control.

The drive buggy will desirably have the belt-mechanism hereinabovementioned, save only the main driving motor and the fluid pump,supported upon an elongated frame for tilting about a transverse'axis.Incertainembodiments of the invention, thisframe can be so controlled asto enable its forward endits end nearer the take up buggy-to rest uponthe minefloor during material conveying operation, and to be lifted fortransport and during the addition or removal of extra belt lengths;Suitable means will be provided for the additidii oib'el't to theconveyor system and for itsremoval at will; 'lih'e upper strand of beltmay be supported between the-b'ug gies by prop-supported idler rolls,and other idler rolls may be dropped on the mine floor at suitableintervals between the buggies to support the lower belt run;

The general objects of this invention are to improve the construction,and in consequence the operation; ofdevices for handling coal or' otherdistintegrated solid minerals behind an apparatus. which delivers largequantities of disintegrated material and which frequently nioyesforward, with the necessity for the attendant material handling devicesto move forward in substantial'step with the material supplyingapparatus; to providean} proved extensible conveyor system'which has arelatively long range of extension; which has improved means for takingin relatively long lengths of belt to increase its reach (or forenabling the removal of such belt. sections); which automaticallymaintains needed belt tension; and which through the use ofbelt-connected take-- up anddrive buggies, the first following closely asource of material to be handled and the latter remaining. Stationary ata delivery point, meets most effectively-f the problem of handling themineral detached by (ionti'nuohs Miners.

In the accompanying drawings, in which 'there are r Fig. 27 is a' view,

' the drive andtake-up buggies of Figs. 1 and 2, and show an extra rollof conveyor belt adjacent the point where belt is 5 added to or removedfrom the extensible conve'ying apparatus;

' I Fig. 5 is a longitudinal, vertical section, on an enlarged scale,and on the plane of the line 5-5 of Fig. 3, through the take-up buggy;

7 Figs. 6 and 7, taken together, constitute a longitudinal,

vertical section on an enlarged scale, and on the plane of the line 6-7;of Figs. 3 and 4, through the drive buggy; Fig; 8 is a fragmentarysection on the same plane as Fig. 7, showing the outer end of the drivebuggy with the movable belt cluster thereof in the position occupiedwhen the belt is fully payed out; a

Fig. 9 is a transverse, vertical section on a further enlarged scale, onthe planes of the lines 9-9 of Fig. 6, showing details of theconstruction of the movable belt cluster, and of frame tilt mechanism ofthe drive buggy; Fig. 10 is a fragmentary, nearly horizontal section, ona further enlarged scale, on the plane of the line 1010 of Fig. 8,showing further details of the construction of the movable belt cluster;

' Fig. 11 is a much enlarged, fragmentary, substantially horizontalsection on the plane of the line 11-11 of Fig. 2,; showing details ofthe belt drive upon the drive u y;

Fig. 12 is an elevational view of belt supporting devices used tosupport the active and return runs of the belt between thetake-up buggyand the drive buggy, the view being take'n transverse to the directionin which the belts extend;

'Figs. 13 and 14 are respectively horizontal and vertical sectionalviews showing the supporting, propulsion and steering devices of thedrive buggy, all other parts'being omitted;

Fig. 15 is a diagrammatic view presented to .showthe conveyor belt andcable reeves;

Fig. 16 is an enlarged, fragmentary, vertical transverse section on theplanes of the line 1616 of Fig. 2 showing the, pivotal connectionbetween the conveying means and the truck portion of the drive buggy;

Fig. 17 is a fragmentary plan view, on an enlarged 'scale; as comparedwith Fig. 3, showing parts in position for the addition of a roll ofconveyor belting to the belt- I ing already in the apparatus;

Fig. 18 is a, view, on a small scale, of a Continuous Miner andof thefirst illustrative embodiment of the present extensible portableconveyor in working or cooperative relation with each other; and

Fig. 19 is a diagrammatic view showing a hydraulic system. a

Fig.20 is a plan view of another drive buggy;

Fig. 21 is a side elevation of the drive buggy shown in Fig.20; Fig. 22is an enlarged, transverse vertical section on the plane of the line22-22 of Fig. 20, showing a front end elevation of the drive buggy;

Fig. 23 is an enlarged, longitudinal, vertical section on the planeof'the line 2323 of Fig. 20;

Fig.,24 is an enlarged plan view, with parts broken away, of anothertake-up'buggy; Fig. 25 is. a side elevation of the take-up buggy of Fig.24;.

Fig.26 is a longitudinal vertical section on the plane Of the line 26-26of Fig. 24;

on a small scale, of a Continuous Miner andof the second illustrativeembodiment of the present extensible portable conveyor in workingcoopera- 7 tion relative witheach other;

Fig. 28 is a diagrammatic view illustrating the conveyor belt and cablereeves of the drive buggy of Fig. 20;

Fig. 29 is a diagrammatic view, showing another hydraulic systemoneadapted to the arrangements of the drive buggy of Fig. 20.

The embodiment of the invention of Figs. 1-19 will first be described.

Referring to the drawings, and first to Figs. 1 and 2, and Figs. 3 and4, it will be noted that a drive buggy 1 and atake-up buggy 2 areconnected by the active, 3, and return, 4, runs of a conveyor beltgenerally designated 5. As the take-up buggy is much the simpler inconstruction itwill b'e described first.

The take-up buggy 2 is shown inside elevation'in Fig. 1, in plan in Fig.3, and in central longitudinal section in Fig. 5. It comprises a body12, supported by four wheels: two forward wheels 13 and 14 and tworearward wheels 15 and 16. The rearward wheels are independently powerdriven and are journaled on Wheel mountings 17 secured to the body 12.Eachv rearward wheel has a drive sprocket 18 fixed to it, and the drivesprockets 18 are driven by motors 19 through usualreduction gearing inhousings 20 and chain drives 21. The front wheels 13 and 14 aresteerable, being journaled on steering knuckles 23 pivotally connectedto a front axle 24 and being connected by a link 26 and arms 27 forturning together. A further arm 28, a reach rod 29 and a conventionalmanually operable means 30 for efiecting pushing and pulling of thereach rod complete the steering mechanism. The axle 24 is pivotableabout a horizontal axis extending longitudinally of the take-up buggy 2,as indicated at 31. I I

The body 12 rotatably supports a number of transverse idler rolls 33adjacent its bottom, which is ,open centrally as indicated at 34. Therolls 33 guide the re turn run 4 of the belt 5 to a large idler roll 36,which is journaled in a yoke 37, which is. mounted to swing horizontallyabouta pivot pin 38 extending, as shown, through ears 39 on the yoke andan intermediate bracket 40 secured to the body 12. The active run 3 ofthe conveyor belt is supported by relatively closely spaced oblique sideidler rolls 42 and central, horizontal idler rolls 43, the

x supporting brackets 44 for the rolls being supported on a hereinsloping deck plate 46. Thetop of the body 12 is covered by an end shieldplate 48 and side shelf plates 49 which cooperate to form a hopper likematerial receiving opening 50 overlying .the belt run 3, and a slopingplate 51 is carried by an inbent portion 52 of the end shield plate 48and extends into close adjacency to the belt 5 just'above the roll 36.Sloping portions 53 of the side plates 49 overlie the side edges of thebelt 5.

From the description of thetake-up buggy it.wil1 be understod that it isadapted'to follow closely after a Continuous Miner and to receivethrough the opening 50 and onto the active run 3 of the conveyor belt 5the discharge from the Miner, and, as the-belt 5 is circulated ordriven, it will convey the disintegrated material upon the active run 3thereof rearwardly and, as will shortly appear, along and over the drivebuggy and discharge it at a desired point. The pivotal mounting 37 ofthe roll 36 will enable the belt 5 to extend smoothly to the drive buggyeven if the body 12 should become slightly out of line. Thepropulsionmeans described enable the takeup buggy 2 to move about as necessary andto maintain itself in discharge receiving relation to the ContinuousMiner, though, as above indicated, it might be connected the latterpivotally supported upon the former at63 and shown #2 3 in F and here nf e more fully descri ed: i

The transport vehicle portion 61 resembles in many particulars a shuttlecar. It comprises steerable front wheels '64, 64, and steerable rearwheels 65, 65. The front wheels are driven through conventionaltransmission means 66, 66 by reversible electric motors 67, 67.Referring more specifically to Figs. 13 and 14, the front wheels arejournaled on swingable axle mountings 70, 70' pivoted on vertical axesat the opposite ends of a transverse axle 71 rigidly secured to thebaseframe 61' of the portion 61, and the swiveled axle mountings have arms72 connected by a conventional tie rod 73 so that the front wheels shallswing together The rear wheels 65, 65 are journaled on swingable axleportions 74 pivotally mounted to turn on vertical axes at the ends of atransverse axle 75, and arms 76 carried by these axle mountings areconnected by a conventional tie rod 77 so that the rear wheels shallturn together. The rear axle is pivoted at 78 at longitudinally spacedpoints on the base frame so that it may rock about a longitudinal axislying in the central longitudinal vertical plane of the base.

The front wheels are propelling wheels, and the trans mission 66includes conventional speed reducers 79 each having a terminal shaft 80coupled by a universal joint 81 to a transmission shaft 82. The rearends of the shafts 82 are coupled by universal joints 83 to longitudinalshafts 84 journaled within the axle mountings 70 with which they areassociated. Each shaft 84 carries within the mounting a worm 85 whichmeshes with a worm wheel 86'fixed to the axle to which the adjacentfront Wheel is secured. By this arrangement the front wheels may bedriven by the motors 67 irrespective of the angles to which the wheelsmay be turned. Conventional front wheel brakes B, desirably of thehydraulically operated spot-disc type are associated with certainelements of the speed reducers 79, and conventional hydraulicallyoperated brakes (not shown) are associated with the rear wheels forbreaking them, and a common control is provided for all of these brakes.This structure being wholly conventional is not illustrated, as itsdetails may vary widely without affecting the invention.

Four-wheel steering is-provided, and the swivel mountings 70 andL74 ofthe wheels at one side of the base have arms 87 and 88'connected by draglinks 89 and 90 respectively to one end of levers 91 and 92 pivotallymounted on transverse axes at the adjacent side of the base frame. Thefront' lever 91 is pivotally connected near the pivotal connection ofthe'latter with its associated drag link 89 to a link 93 which is inturn pivotally connected to the lowerend of the rear lever 92. A fluidcylinder 94 pivoted at 95 on a'bracket secured to the adjacent side ofthe base frame contains a reciprocable piston 96 having its piston rod97 pivotally connected to the upper end of the front lever 91', with itspivot alined with the pivotal connection of the link 93' with this samelever. Thus, when fluid is suitably supplied to the cylinder 94, thepiston 96 may be moved to effect opposite swinging movements of thefront and rear wheels in one direction or the other to turn themachine'through a sharply curved path. To effect steering, a steeringwheel 99, located at the operators station S at the rear end of themachine, is connected through a gear and gear segment to a steering arm100 pivoted at 101 on the adjacent side of the base frame and connectedby a pivoted rod 102 to the lower end of a lever 103-. A drag link 104connects the upper end of the lever 103 with'the rear drag link 90. Alink-105 pivotally connects the lever 103 with a stem 1116 of aconventional control valve 107, commonly known as a Bendix, whichcontrols the flow of liquid under pressure to the opposite ends of thecylinder 94. Thus,- by turning-the steering wheel 99, liquid underpressure may be supplied to the steering cylinder 94 to effect turningof the four steering wheels in the desired directions, and the. draglink 104' provides a mechanical connection between the steering wheel 99and the steering gear, whereby under certain conditionsthe-wheels-may'be. manually 6 turned to effect steering? By trapping liquid in thesteering cylinder 94, the wheels may be held in the desired position ofadjustment in an obvious manner As shownin Fig. 16 the conveyor beltsupporting portion 62 of the drive buggy 1 comprises side plates '111,

111 connected by a tro 'ughed plate portion- 112 which serves as a guideand support for the active run 3 of the conveyor belt 5. A tubularelement 113 extends between the plates 111', 111- and surrounds and isjournaled on a transverse rod 115 whose opposite ends are supported inbushings 116 supported by the vehicle portion 61 Suitable devices, asfor example cotter pins 117, hold the rod 115 against longitudinaldisplacement; and collars 118 keep the belt supporting portion 62 in"proper space relation to the vehicle portion 61.

The angular relation of the port-ion 62 of the drive buggy 1 to theportion 61 thereof is varied, of course, by pivotal movement of theportion 62 on the pivotal connection 63. This pivotal movement iseffected and controlled by hydraulic jacks" 120, 120 of the cylinder andpiston type, the cylinders 121 of these jacks being pivotally connectedas at 122 to the lower'forward part of the vehicle portion 61, and thepiston rods of the jacks 120 being pivotally connected to pivot pins 124fixed to the sides ofthe'portion 62' (see Figs. 2 and 9) The jacks 120are single acting and. the admission of fluid to their lower ends raisesthe forward end of the portion 62, whereas the weight distribution ofsuch portion relative to the pivot 63 normally causes the forward end ofsuchportion: to tend to rest upon the mine bottom and, during materialconveying operation, the jacks 120 may be vented in such manner that theforward end of the portion 62 will in fact rest upon the mine bottom.

The conveyor 'belt supporting" portion 62 supports conveyor belt drivingmeans and conveyor belt storing and tension maintaining means.

Now considering the conveyor belt driving means, it will be noted that asuitable electric" motor is supported upon a platform 131 carried by'themain body or vehicle portion 61' of the drive buggy 1. This motor,through suitable reduction gearing 132 and an extensible andcontractable universal, transmission shaft arrangement 133 drives ashaft 134, Figs. 4 and 11, suitably journaled as at135, 136 in aforwardly extending tubular portion 137' of a gear housing 138 securedto one of the sides of the portion 61. The gear housing 138 supports insuitable bearings 139, 140 a drive shaft 141 for a belt driving roll142, which is driven from the shaft 134 by a bevel pinion 143" on thelatter and a' coacting, driven bevel gear 143 fixed to the shaft 141.The other end of the shaft 141 is suitably journaled as at 144 in abearing carried by the other side of the portion 62.

The belt driving roll 142 has associated with it a secondary drive rollor pulley 145. These rolls are suitably connected by spur gears 142,145, Fig. 2. After passing downwardly over the drive I011 142 and upover the secondary drive roll 145, the belt 5' passes down and aroundand beneath a furtherroll 146 and then upward to the first roll 147 of abelt storage and payingout systern generally designated 148. From thefinal roll 149 of the system 148 the return run 4 of the belt 5 passesforwardly over supporting idler rolls 151, 152, 153 and 154and oiffromthe drive buggy 1 to the take-up buggy 2, and over the rolls 33 on thelatter. The several rollsso far described on the drive buggy are alljournaled on the tiltable frame portion 62 thereof and, except for thesupporting idlers 151, 152, 15 3 and 154 are rather close to the rearend of the same. A hold down roll 155 is rotatably carried by the frame62 near its forward end.

The belt storage and paying out system 148 includes a series of rollsrotating 0n stationary axes, a series of rolls, called a cluster forconvenience, mounted on a moving carriage, and means for controlling-andfor also effecting at will-movement of the carriage and cluster relativeto the rolls which turn on stationary axes. Two of the. stationary rollshave already been .mentioned. These are roll 147, near the lower side ofthe troughed p1ate-112 and the roll 149, near the'bottom of the frameportion 62. There are two other rolls 161 and 162 journaled on the frameportion 62 and arranged the first above the second and both above theroll 149.

The moving carriage is designated 164, and, as may be seen from Figs. 8,9 and 10, it includes a frame 165 having axles 166 and'167, and theseaxles have flanged wheels 168 suitably journaled on them. The flangedwheels 168 are guided by and roll along spaced pairs of rails on theframe portion 62-lower rails 170 and upper rails 171. The carriage 164carries journale'd on it five rolls: three beltreversing rolls 173, 174and 175 and two belt guiding rolls 176 and 177. The rolls 173 and 175are top and bottom rolls, one above the other, a

and the roll 174 is an intermediate roll and is rearward of the othertwobelt reversing rolls mentioned. The guiding rolls 176 and 177 are to therear of and respectively above and belowthe horizontal plane-whichincludes the axis of the roll'174.

Now it may be observed that, in addition to the active run-Sand thereturn rum 4 "of the belt 5, there-are six strands or reaches of beltwhich have their lengths altered as there occurs relativemovement of thecarriage 164 between the guide rails 170,.171. These strands may beidentified as follows:

181 between rolls 147 and 173, i

183 between rolls 161 and 174, 184 between rolls 174 and 162, i

185 'between'rolls 162 and 175,'and coacting with roll 177, and 186between rolls 175 and 149. r 7

When the carriage 164 moves from the position shown in Fig. 8 to .theposition shown in Fig. 6 substantially sixtimes as much belt lengthasthe distance ofcarriage movement must be drawn into the system 148,and as such length may be supplied equally by the active and returnruns, 3 and 4 respectively, of the belt, the take-up. buggy 2, startingfrom a position at least as'far from the drive buggy as three times thelength of travelof the carriage 164 wouldhave to move three suchdistance towards the drive buggy 1 for the carriage to be able to makethe movement mentioned. On the other hand, the take-up buggy could moveaway from the drive buggy three times as far as the carriage 164wouldtravel, if the carriage moved from the position of .Fig. 6 to theposition of Fig. 8. V 7

,Now, the'carriage 164 can be moved from the position of Fig. 6 to theposition of Fig. 8 by motion of the take-up buggy 2 away from thedrivebuggy 1, but new approach of'the take up buggy to the drive buggy wouldnot wind' in the slack produced without other arrangeinentsthan havebeensojfar described. Moreover, there would be nothing to provideandmaintain the necessary belt tautness in anything except a position inwhich the carriage 164 could'move no. further to the left. in thepositions of the apparatus shown in the longitudinal views thereof. I

Accordingly there is provided means for resisting movements of thecarriage 164 to theleft in Figs. 4 and 6,

i.e.:outwa rd or rearward movement thereof, for causing movements of thecarriage 164 to the right simultaneously, with outward or rearwardmovement of the take-up buggy 2, for permitting deliberate movement ofthe carriage 164 from the position of Fig. 8 to that of Fig. 6 to beeffected at will,'and formaintaining automatically sufiicient belttension to permit conveying of thematerial to be handled.

The apparatus provided for these purposes includes what may be called ahydraulically operable block and tackle arrangement associated with thecarriage 164 for controlling and, alternatively, for effecting itsmove-' j'frients. r

These arrangements are best shown in Figs. 2, 4, 6, 7, 8 and 15. Theframe portion 62 at each side thereof has secured thereto, near the topthereof and about midway'between its ends, a doublehydraulic cylinderand piston mechanism 190. The one of these mechanisms at the left of theapparatus, looking forward, is designated 190 L, the other 190 R. Theyextend longitudinally of the apparatus, and are single acting, and actin mutually opposite directions. Each includes a cylinder 191, a piston192, a piston rod 193, a multiple (triple) block 194 on the outer end ofits piston rod 193, and a multiple (double) block 195 on its cylinderhead 196 not traversed by its piston rod. Each has a fluid supply andventing connection 197. All of the parts of the mechanisms 190 L and 190R are distinguished by the letters L and R also. These mechanisms eachhave a cable section asso ciated with them. A cable 200 is associatedwith the mechanism 190 L, a cable 201 with the mechanism 190 R. Eachcable is attached at which may be called its free end to one end of thecarriage 164. Cable 200 is attached to the outer or rearward end ofcarriage 164 as indicated at 205, passes rearwardly around a pulley 206rotatably supported below the rolls 147 and 161 on the frame 62, passesto the left hand side of the frame 62 and around another pulley 207mounted on the frame 62, and then, after passing over a pairoflevel-changing pulleys 208' and 208" on the left side of frame 62,passes forwardly to and around the mechanism 190 L, and finally has itsother end secured in fixed relation to the frame 62 at the point 209.Correspondingly, the cable portion 201 is connected to the carriage 164at 210, extendsforwardly and around a pulley 211 journaled on a crosselement 212 of the frame 62 and located at the forward end of thelatter, passes laterally to another pulley 213 rotatably supported forturning on a vertical axis at the right hand side of the frame 62,looking forward, and then passes rearwardly and around a pair oflevel-changing pulleys 215 and 216 journaled on horizontal axes on theright side of the frame 62, thus bringing it up to the level of themechanism 190 R. From the pulley 216 the cable 201 is passed incooperative relation with the mechanism 190 R and then has its remainingend fixed with respect to the right hand side of the frame 62 at 218.

The coaction of the cables 200 and 201 with the mechanisms 190 L and 190R are just the reverse ofeach other, with the result that the extensionof either mechanism will be attended by collapse (telescoping) of theother. Each of the blocks 194 has three pulleys, and the blocks 195 havetwo pulleys apiece on them. These pulleys will be identified, in thecases of the upperones, by single primes; in the cases of the middleones on blocks 194 and the lower ones on blocks 195 by double primes,and the lowest pulleys on blocks 194 will be identified by tripleprimes. Each will also be designated with an R or L for distinctionbetween the two mechanisms. The arrangements of cable 201 with respectto mechanism 190 R will be now described further. The run of the cablepassing rearwardly from the pulley 216 maybe identified as 221. Itpasses, towards the center of the buggy 1, rearwardly, and around thepulley 194' R and continues in a forwardly extending run 222 and aroundthe pulley 195' R. It then extends rearwardly again, in a run 223, andaround the pulley 194 R and then again forwardly in a run 2 24 towthepulley 195" R and around the latter and once more rearwardly in a run225 to the pulley 194" R, and finally forwardly in a run 226 to thepoint of attachment 218 to the frame 62. The reeve of the cable 200relative to the apparatus L extends forwardly in a run 231 from thepulley 208' to the pulley 194 L, backwardly in a run 232 to the pulleyL, forwardly in a run 233 to the pulley 194" L, rearwardly in a run 234to the pulley 195" L, forwardly in a run 235 to the pulley 194""L, andrearwardly in a run 236 to the point of attachment 209. 1

The hydraulic system shown diagrammatically in Fig. 19 mayadvantageously be noted" next. A fluid reservoir is shown at 240. Adouble pump 241, including a pump 242 for fluid to eifect steering and apump 243 for fluid for other functions, is driven by a motor, designatedM, and which may, if desired, be the motor 130. The pumps 242 and 243have a common suction line 244 and separate discharge lines 245 and 246respectively. The line 245. leads to the Bendix control valve 107. Linesor conduits 247 and 248 lead from the Bendix to the opposite ends of thecylinder 94. A return line or exhaust conduit 249 extends from theBendix back to a drain line 250 leading to the tank or reservoir 240.

Pump 243 discharges through the pressure supply conduit 246 to :a. valvebox assembly 251, which includes a conventional'end box 252' and adouble acting valve 253 controlling the supply and venting of fluid withrespect to a motor 254" for driving in winding or in unwinding directiona roll of conveyor belt as will later be described, conduits 255 and 256connecting the valve 253, with'the motor 254; The valve box assembly 251includes another end box 258 connected with the vent line 250, and, nextto the box 258 a control valve 259 which does not need to be describedin detail as its functioning does not aifect the present invention. Nextto the left of valve 259 is a control valve 260 for supplying andventing through conduit means 260 fluid relative to the tilt jacks 120'.Between the valve 253 and the valve 260 is another double acting controlvalve 261 which is movable oppositely to control the connections withthe conduits 246 and 250 of conduits 263 and 264 which lead respectivelyto the conduits 197 R and 197 L. Between the connections 197 R and 197 Lthere are provided valve devices 265 and 266, the latter being a springopened, but manually closable valve. device, and the former a so-calledpilot type relief valve allowing hydraulic fluid to pass, when itspressure is great enough, from conduit 263' to conduit 264. A checkvalve CV, opening from conduit 263' towards conduit 264 is providedbetween the valve devices 265" and 266-.

Now, from what has been explained above, it will be understood'that asthe take-up buggy moves forwardly relative to the drive buggy, belt mustbe made available between the buggies, and this can be done only bycausing the carriage 164 to move towards the outer (rearward) end of thedrive buggy. This will mean a collapse, so to speak, of the mechanism190 R, as the free length of the cable 201 must be increased for thecarriage 164 to move rearwardly in its guideways. Now, the collapse ofthe mechanism 190 R must be resisted in order that adequate belt tensionmay be maintained, but yieldingly resisted, so that the take-up buggycanadvance relative to the drive buggy.

This resistance, in the illustrative, embodiment of the invention shown,is provided by'the pilot type relief'valve, with the double acting valve261 in its mid-position, in which it blanks d the connections 263 and264 both from supply and from the exhaust line. Y

As the piston 192R is moved: to the rightiu cylinder 191. R it willdisplace fluid past the relief valve 265, the check valve CV and thevalve device. 266. The setting of the relief valve will be such astomaintain the necessary tension on the active runof the belt during theloading. operation when theftake-up buggy .2 is standing still, plus anadditional amount representing the desired resistance to movement of thetake-up. buggy forwardly. The take-up buggy willbe moved aheadperiodically as each new section of material is. disintegrated for thefull width of the face and a. new section is tobe at tacked.

When the successive advances of the take-up buggy have resulted in anapproach of the carriage164 to the stationary'rolls161, 162-and' 149,and no: further quantity of beltzcanbe .paidiolfqby meansoftfurther;outward move}- ment of the movable belt cluster, an additional roll ofbelt can be brought into the system as follows: At its for ward end thedrive buggy may be provided with slidable supporting arms for a roll ofbelt. These are illustrated in Fig. 17 at 280. They are slidable inguides 281 fixed to the side frames of the portion 62 of the drivebuggy 1. They are recessed as at 282 to receive and support reducedportions 283" on a shaft 284, which is adapted to extend through andsupport a roll of belting 285. The shaft 284 is provided with a mountingfor a gear 286-, which may be driven by a pinion 287 supported on anddriven by the belt roll driving motor 254 previously described. A rollof belting may be placed on a short section of frame 288 having guiderolls 289 pivotally supported on it. When the connection between theends of the belt has been broken in the return run 4 of the belt 5 at apoint between the drive buggy and the take-up buggy (note that thetake-up buggy will ordinarily, when belt is to be inserted, be aconsiderable distance away from the inner end of the drive buggy) theroll of belt 285 may he slid on the guide rolls 289 into the same set ofvertical planes with the belt 5, the sliding arms 280 may be slidunderneath the shaft 284, the forward end of the drive buggy beinglowered, if necessary, to make this possible. The'forward end of thedrive buggy may then be raised hydraulically as above explained, and thebelt roll lifted out of contact with" the rolls 289 on the frame 288-. Agear drive between the motor 254 and theshaft 284 may then be arranged,as above explained', and the end of the'belt in the roll can beconnected to the portion of the return run of the belt which passesoutwardly and around the stationary roll 149. Then by admitting fluid tothe cylinder and piston mechanism 190 R the carriage 164 supporting themovable belt cluster may be moved from the position shown in Fig. 8inwardly to the position indicated in Fig. 3-, and, if the quantity ofbelt on the roll has been properly proportioned to the construction ofthe apparatus the whole roll of belt can be drawn on to the drive buggy.The central or innermost end of the belt from the roll may then beconnected to the forwardly extending portion of the return run of thebelt, and the apparatus will then be ready to function again to providefor further successive advances of the take-up buggy 2, these beingaccompanied, as noted, by traction exerted on the-runs 3 and 4' of thebelt 5, with resultant forcing of fluid from the cylinder and pistonmechanism 190 R as the carriage 164 is progressively moved toward theouter end of the drive buggy. Forward movement of the carriage 164during the addition of belt causes belt to be drawn in in the return runonly, rather than also in the active run, because the belt drivearrangements prevent the run 181 from pulling the run 3 outwardly. Afterthe mining operation has been carried as far as de sired, by successiveextensions, through the addition of new lengths of. belt to theextensible portable belt conveyor, it will be evident that belt can beremoved from the system by disconnecting the belt and winding sectionsof it ontosuccessive shafts 284, removing successive rolls of belt asthey are woundup. It will be appreci ated that the take-up buggy 2 willbe progressively backed out at the appropriate speed as the belt tobe-removed is wound in rolls. 1

The active run 3 of the belt 5' will be supported, as the distancebetween the take-up buggy and the drive buggy increases, byprop-supported idler rollers which may be formed of roller elements 1301rotatable onan upwardly concave shaft section 1302 and separated bywedgelike separator elements 1303, the shaft 1302 being pivotallysupported: as at 1304 as by jack pipes 1305 and the'belt run 3 beingguided by the rolls. The forwardly moving run of the belt 4 may besupported on rollers 1307' journaled on frames 1308 whichvcan simply besupported on the mine. flo'or'underneathl-the return run of the belt.The source of power may be a suitable plug and socket connector on acontinuous Miner, but it will be understood that other powersupplyarrangements can be employed, if desired. a To cause belt to bedrawn into the system, it is necessary to effect movement of the piston192 R to the left. This is accomplished by shifting the valve 261 tosupply pressure to'conduit 263, and it will be noted that conduit 264will then 'be connected to the tank 240 so that fluid may be displacedfrom cylinder .191 L.

1 When it is desired to shorten the belt length in use, the piston 192 Rwill be supplied with fluid, and the Wheel drive of the take-up buggymay be operated to cause the latter to move towards the drive buggy atthe proper rate, if desired, as will normally be the case.

Whenever the valve 261 is used to supply fluid from the line 246 to thecylinder 191 R, the valve 266 will be closed, thus making a higherpressure availablethe pressure determined by the usual relief valve inbox 252.

1 If fluid is supplied to piston 192 L with the belt cluster at theextreme right end of Fig. 6, the cluster will be moved to the left andbelt can be drawn out without resistance. This would be useful if therewere to be desired a removal of belt at a point just short of the driveroll. It will be noted that if fluid is supplied to conduit 264 valve266will be manually closed.

Whenbelt is to be removed, it will ordinarily be done at the front ofthe drive buggy,a shaft 284 being driven to wind in one run of the belt5. Thereturn run can be wound'up while the tension on the active run ismaintained by retarding the rateof outward movement of the take-upbuggy, and disconnecting only the return run. If both portions 3 and 4are disconnected, as might be the case when the apparatus is beingprepared'for movement to a new point, either run could be wound up in aroll, as desired; a

From the foregoing description it will be apparent that theportableextensible belt conveyor apparatus of this embodiment is adaptedto permit the use of an extensible conveyor system requiring a minimumnumber of interruptions for the introduction of additional belt, andthat rooms and entries of considerable length can be effectively handledfrom the material removal standpoint with the apparatus mentioned. I 1

,The multiple belt reeve in connection with the mechanism 148-enablesthe handling of relatively long lengths of belt with a drive buggy ofreasonable length, and the multiple cable reeves enable the higheffective use of hydraulic pressures. With belt introduced into thesystem wholly on the return run 4, six feet of belt will be drawn in foreach foot of movement of the carriage 164 to the rightin Fig. 8. Eachfoot of movement of the carriage will require only .2 (one-fifth of afoot) of movement of the piston 192 L to accomplish it, but thismovement of the'carriage will require. relatively little power. On 1theotherhand, when the take-up buggy is advancing onjejfoot,;the-carriage164 will be moved but /3 foot, and the piston 192 R will be moved butfoot.

,In Figs.'-20 to 29, another embodiment of the invention is disclosed.Thisincludes a drive buggy 301 and a take-up'buggy 302 connected by anactive run 303, and a return run 304, of a conveyor belt generallydesignated 305. In the case of this embodiment also, the take-upbuggywillbe described first.

Thetake-up buggy 302 is shown in side elevation, in Eig.i-;25, in planin Fig. 24, and in central longitudinal section in Fig. 26. It comprisesa body 312 supported by tractor-mountings 313 and'314 at its oppositesides, these tractor mountings'being connected by'T-shaped (in crosssection) supportsj315 with the side plates 316 of the body 312. The"tractor mountings include frames 317 about which endless tread devices318 travel; and these endless tread 'devices are provided with suitabledrives '319 at their rearward-ends, to each of which, in, a well knownmanner, power is supplied by a chain and sprocket drive connection 320from a motor 321 mounted on a side plate of the take-upbuggy. Obviouslyby approriately controlling the motors 321, the take-up buggy may beadvanced, retracted, and turned in any desired manner, as well as beheldstationary. I

The body 312 rotatably supports a number of transversely disposed idlerrolls 333 adjacent its bottom, which is open'centrally as indicated at334. The rolls 333 guide the return run 304 of the belt 305 to a largeidler roll-336, supported on a shaft 337 which may be car.- ried andjournaled in any suitable manner by the body 312. Hereinit is shownrotatably supported by hearing boxes 338 mounted on the side plates 316.The side plates316 each have a longitudinal flange 339 secured to themfor a purpose soon to be noted. The active run-303 of the conveyor belt305 is supported by relatively closely spaced oblique seriesof sideidler rolls 342 and central horizontal idler roll series 343. Theindividual idler roll elements may desirably be of rubber or the like.The supporting brackets 344 for the rolls 342 and the sup portingbrackets 345 for the rolls 343 are supported on plateelements 346 whichextend between the side plates 316'ofthe body 312 and are supported onthe flanges 339. The side plates of the body 312 are connectedbytransverse tubular brace elements 347. The top of thebody 312 ispartially covered by an'end shield plate 348'and side shield plates 349which cooperate to form a hopper-like receiving opening 350 overlyingthe belt run 303 adjacent its forward end. The shield plates slopeinwardly and are equipped with adjustable extension which are identifiedby' the same numerals as the shield plates proper, but with primesadded. It will be observed that the belt portion 303 is shroudedlaterally and at its forward end by the shield plates. While there aresubstantial differences inthe construction of the takeup buggy 302 fromthat of the take-up buggy 2, it will be appreciated that the buggy 302is adapted to perform the same functions as buggy 2, which functionshave been adequately described at an earlier point in thisspecification.

The drive buggy 301 may now be noted. It too is a'self-propelledvehicle.It includes a transport vehicle portion 361 and a conveyor beltsupporting portion 362, the latter pivotally supported on the former at363, for tilting about a transverse axis. 7 The-transport vehicleportion 361 includes elongated upright side frames 365coimected witheach other by cross elements 366 and each connected to a boxlike frame367 about which a flexible tractor tread device 368 is guided. Eachtractor tread device 368 is driven by a motor 369 individual to it,through suitable transmission mechanism 370 driving a drive sprocket 371for the flexible tractor tread device 368 which it actuates. Theconveyor. belt supporting portion 362 consists of opposite side plateelements 373; 373 suitably held in spaced relation with respect toeachother. They are connected at their tops by a troughed plate portion 375which serves as a, guide and support for the activerun 303 of theconveyor belt, 305.' Transverse reinforcing members 375' underlie thetroughed plate portion at appropriate points Bearing rings 376 weldedto'the plates 373 surroundand are journaled on a"transverse"rod 377whose opposite ends are supported in bearing rings 378 supported on the:side plates 'of the vehicle portion 361. SuitabIe means, as, for examplecotter pins 379, hold the rod 377 against longitudinal displacement,andthe engagements of the" bearing rings'376 and 378 keep the beltsupporting portion 362 in proper lateral space relation to the vehicleportion 361. It will be evident that by the proper control of the motors369, the drive buggy 1 may be advanced, retracted and turned in anydesiredmanner;

The angular relation of the'portion 362 ofthe drive buggy 301-toth'eportion 361' thereof is' aried by piv- 13 otal movement of theportion 362 on the pivotal connection 363. This pivotal movement iseffected and controlled by hydraulic jacks 390, 390 of the cylinder andpiston type, the cylinder 391 of these jacks being pivotally connectedas at 392 to the vehicle portion 361 at the right hand end of thelatter, as shown in Fig. 21, and the piston rods 393 of the jacks 390being pivotally connected to pivot pins 394 fixed to the sides of theportion 362. (See Figs. 21 and 22.) The jacks 390 are single-acting, andthe admission of fluid to their lower ends raises the forward end of theportion 362, Whereas the weight disposition of this portion relative tothe pivot 363 will cause the forward end of such portion to swing fdownwardly upon venting of fluid from the jacks 390.

The conveyor belt supporting portion 362 supports conveyor belt drivingmeans and conveyor belt storing and tension maintaining means.

Considering first the conveyor belt driving means, it will be noted thata suitable electric motor 400 is supported upon a platform 401 carriedby the main body or vehicle portion 361 of the drive buggy 301. Thismotor, through suitable reduction gearing (not shown) and a universaltransmission shaft arrangement 403, drives a shaft 404 which drivesthrough appropriate direction changing gearing enclosed in a housing405, a transverse drive shaft 406 supporting a belt driving roll 407.The belt driving roll 407 has associated with it a secondary drive roll408. These rolls are suitably connected. by spur gears 407' and 408.After passing downwardly over the drive roll 407 and up over thesecondary drive roll 408, the belt 305 passes down and around andbeneath a further roll 409 and then upwardly to the first roll 410 of abelt storage and paying out system, generally designated 411. From thefinal roll 4120f the system 411 the return run 304 of the belt 305passes forwardly to over supporting idler rolls to the tape-up buggy.The several rolls so far described as being located on the drive buggy,are all journaled on the tiltable frame portion 362 thereof. The beltstorage and paying out system 411 includes a series of rolls rotating onstationary axes, a series of rolls, called a cluster for convenience,mounted on a movingcarriage, and means for controlling the movementof'the carriage and its supported cluster relative to the rolls whichturn on stationary axes. Two of the series of rolls forming the beltstorage and paying out system have already been mentioned. These areroll 410 near the lower side of the trough plate 375, and the roll 412near the bottom of the frame portion 362. There are four other rolls inthis system which are mounted to turn on stationary axes. Two of these,415 and 416, are journaled on the frame portion 362 and arranged thefirst above the second; and between and with its axis to the rear of theplane which includes the axis of rotation of the rolls 415 and 416 thereis a still further roll 417. The fourth of these rolls, numbered 418, isdisposed just forward of the roll 410. In addition to the drive rolls407 and 408 there are rolls 409, 410, 418, 415, 417, 416 and 412 whichrotate on axes, fixed relative to the frame 362.

The cluster above referred to is generally designated 423 and it has amovable carriage 424, and, as may be seen from Fig. 23, it includes aframe 425 having axles 426 and 427, and these axles have flanged wheels428 suitably supported on them. The flanged wheels 428 are guided by androll along spaced pairs of rails on the frame portion 362, lower rails430 and upper rails 431. The carriage 424 carries journaled on it fiverolls, three belt reversing rolls 433, 434 and 435, and two belt guidingrolls 436 and 437. The rolls 433 and 435 are top and bottom rolls, oneabove the other, and the roll 434 is an intermediate roll and isrearward of the other two belt reversing rolls mentioned. The guidingrolls 436 and 437 are to the rear of and respectively above and belowthe horizontal plane which includes the axis of the roll 434.

"14 Now it will be noted that in addition to the active run 303 and thereturn run 304 of the belt 305, there are six strands or reaches of beltwhich have their lengths altered as there occurs relative movement ofthe carriage 424 between the guide rails 430, 431. These strands may beidentified as follows:

441 between rolls 410 and 433,

442 between rolls 433 and 418 and coacting with roll 443 between rolls418 and 434 and coacting with roll 444 between rolls 434 and 417,

445 between rolls 417 and 435 and coacting with roll 437,

and

446 between rolls 435 and 412 and coacting with roll When the carriage424 moves from'the position shown in Fig. 23, toward the right in thatfigure, substantially six times as much belt length as the distance ofcarriage movement must be drawn into the system 411, and as such lengthmay be suppliedequally by the active and return runs 303 and 304,respectively, of the belt, the take-up buggy 302, starting from aposition at least as far from the drive buggy as three times thelengthof travel of the carriage 424', would have to move three timessuch distance toward the drive buggy 301 for the carriage to be able tomake the movement mentioned. On the other hand, the take-up buggy canmove away from the drive buggy three times as far as the carriage 424travels if the carriage moves from a position to the right of that shownin Fig. 23, to the position shown in that figure.

The carriage 424 can be caused to move to the left upon the drive buggyby motion of the take-up buggy away from the drive buggy, but a returnof the take-up buggy towards the drive buggy will not eifect the windingin of the slack thereby produced. Accordingly, means must be provided toWind in such slack, and to permit the introduction of additional beltinginto the system, and to maintain necessary tension in the belt system.According to this embodiment of the invention, a simpler control systemfor movement of the carriage 424 is provided than is the case with thefirst embodiment, and these arrangements are illustrated in Figs. 28 and29. The frame portion 362 at one side thereof, herein the left hand sidelooking forwardly, has secured to it near its top and forwardly of itslongitudinal center, a hydraulic cylinder and piston mechanism 450. Thisis a single-acting hydraulic cylinder and piston mechanism, and itincludes a cylinder 451, a piston 452, a piston rod 453, a multiple(triple) block 454, diagrammatically shown in Fig. 28 and carried on thepiston rod 453, and a multiple (double) block 455 mounted on the head456 of the cylinder 451. The block 455 is visible in side elevation inFig. 22, and both of the blocks are visible in plan in Fig. 20. Themechanism 450 has a cable section 460 associated with it. One end ofthis cable is attached at what may be called its free end to the forwardend of the carriage 424, as at 461. From the connection 461 the cable460 extends forwardly and around a pulley 462 journaled on an obliqueelement 463 carried by the frame 362, and located at the forward end ofthe latter. It then passes laterally to another pulley 464, rotatablysupported for turning on a vertical axis at the left hand side of theframe 362 looking forward, and then passes rearwardly and around a pairof pulleys 465 and 466 which, so to speak, set it over laterally of theframe 362 to a position outside of the latter. From the pulley 466,thecable-460 is passed in cooperative relation with the mechanism 450,and then has its remaining end fixed with respect to the cylinder 451.The multiple block 454 has its three sheaves individually identified bythe reference characters 454', 454 and 454'". The sheaves of themultiple block 455 are

